This is how much sleep you should get to avoid a beer belly: study

Here’s some gut-wrenching news: Getting less than eight hours of shut-eye every night could be contributing to your beer belly.

Published in the journal Sleep Medicine, a new study explores the link between sleep deprivation and visceral fat — dangerous belly fat that builds up around vital organs and has been tied to metabolic disease and insulin resistance.

The goal is to get seven to eight hours of sleep a night, with the new research showing one less hour of daily sleep could result in an overall increase of about 12 grams of visceral fat mass. The sleep benefit seems to plateau around eight hours.

“Sleep duration is negatively associated with visceral fat mass accumulation during adulthood with possibly no benefits beyond eight hours of sleep per day,” the international team of scientists wrote, noting further studies are necessary to confirm their findings.

The latest research included data from more than 5,100 adults, ages 18 to 59, responding to the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 2011-2012 and 2013-2014.

Sleep duration was noted on an in-home interview questionnaire. X-ray technology was used to measure regional body fat mass.

Respondents typically slept for about seven hours each night. The average age was 37 and participants were primarily white (38%) and black (22%).

The findings come after years of warnings about the dangers of sleep deprivation, such as increased risk of infection, brain aging and even behavioral changes.

Last year, experts determined that nearly half of Americans are sleep-deprived. Meanwhile, the World Obesity Atlas 2023 report estimated that more than half of the world will be overweight or obese by 2035.

Caused by environmental factors, stress or lifestyle habits — such as poor diet or inactivity — visceral fat is particularly threatening to overall health because it could lead to Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, breast cancer, Alzheimer’s disease and more, per Healthline.

Earlier this month, findings from the European Society of Cardiology showed that less than five hours of sleep contributed to a 74% increased risk of peripheral artery disease compared to those who slept seven to eight hours per night.

But some research suggests it isn’t about the number of hours but rather the quality of sleep. One study last year revealed that “good quality sleep,” such as drifting off quickly and soundly, is more important than duration.